One of the few stuntmen worldwide who can execute a backflip on a snowmobile, Blaze ranks near the top of his profession. He recently qualified for the Winter X Games, essentially the Olympics for extreme athletes.

Remarkably, in 12 years as a professional Blaze never had broken a bone before Saturday, though he'd had some memorable crashes.

Once in Duluth, Minn., he fell 38 feet and landed in a snow bank. He walked away without a scratch.

Another time in Idaho he crashed and broke 20 parts on his snowmobile -- but not a single bone.

Before Saturday, his worst injuries were a dislocated hip and torn ligaments in his pelvis, which he incurred a few years ago after careening off a ramp.

Still, Blaze never paused long enough to dwell on danger until two weeks ago, when his friend Jim McNeil died performing a Motocross stunt. He was 32.

"It was just one of those things where everything that could have went wrong, went wrong," Blaze said. "He was a very professional, very dedicated rider."

Blaze paused as a nurse delivered his pain medication and adjusted his intravenous drip of antibiotics.

"I guess part of the rush I get is from the fear," Blaze continued. "But it goes deeper than that, too. It comes down to, I want to make people happy. I give smiles away for a living."

Snowmobile stunts is all Blaze has wanted to do since he graduated high school and got rejected from the only college he applied to, Embry-Riddle in Arizona. He had wanted to study aeronatuical engineering and pilot a space shuttle.

Instead, he moved to the mainland United States and tried out for a team of travelling snowmobile showman. His first gig was in Fargo, N.D. He made $400.

Blaze, who's competed in 50 countries and five continents, figures to miss at least a few months, his longest period on the sidelines.

Blaze realized he was in trouble as soon as his snowmobile launched off the ramp Saturday. Once he'd lost control, he broke what he considers a cardinal rule: Never let go.

"If I'd hung on and ridden it into the ground, it wouldn't have been as bad," Blaze said.

He knew right after impact his leg was broken.

"When I tried to move it, I could feel the bone moving around," he said.

Blaze was rushed to Albany Medical Center, where he remained in bed Monday, occupied by not much more than daytime television and his iPhone. He was working on getting a flight to Texas, where he also has a home.

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Blaze hopes his recovery doesn't take much longer than two months. He already has 15 dates booked next year in Mexico.